the downside of switching early is the blend is not as friend leto the environment. >> the winter blend of gasoline is a very similar type of gasoline that doesn't have as stringent air pollution requirements. with summer months, a cleaner version is necessary to reduce ozone when possible. winter gasoline, thanks to the cooler air, doesn't have to be quite as stringent. >> reporter: so you're wondering when these prices will drop an by how much. depends on which analyst you ask. one school of thought has prices going down 15 to 20 cents within a week. now, the reason why these prices did skyrocket is because of refinery problems. one we're very familiar with. you might recall in august when the chevron refinery in richmond got fire and in southern california over the past week, the exxonmobil refinery in torrance had a power failure and didn't start back up until this past friday. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >>> this morning, decision 2012 is coming to the bay area. in just a few hours the president will honor california icon before heading to san francisco for a fu